(submitted by team reporter John Barr)The New Hamburg Minor Atom A Rep BW Feed & Seed team travelled to Owen Sound for the Regional Silversticks tournament Nov 2nd – Nov 4th. The coaches were ready, the parents were ready, and the players were too.
Coach Darryl Smith and his staff of Ryan Thorne, Derek
Klaassen, Kevin Lowry and Bryce Shantz had been cycling the boys through many
decisive drills from the start of the season in anticipation of Silversticks.
This repetition was evident in the first game which saw the Huskies face off
against the Brampton 45’s. Both teams came out aggressively, both wanting to
hit the scoreboard first. It would not be until late in the 1st when
Jack Wheeler set Mitchell Hunter down the shooting lane with Cody Klaassen
tapping it in for the Huskies. Second period play was fast with many opportunities
for both teams and Tyler Clement didn’t give an inch for Brampton to shoot
through. Owen Lowry and Matt Eddy set a defensive zone that repelled Brampton’s
charges on numerous occasions. Third period play opened with Austin Lee-Barker
feeding Sam Thorne’s rush for the Huskies second goal. Minutes later Aaron
Bell’s breakout pass to Kyle Barr was fed to Thorne again making it 3-0. Hunter
sealed Brampton’s fate by adding another insurance goal for the Huskies earning
a 4- 1 final.
Game two pitted the Guelph Storm against the Huskies with
Jordan Hopkins in net. The Huskies would hit the board first with Thorne
driving the net for a goal with Hunter feeding Klaassen seconds later to end
the 1st period 2-0. Second period play pitted offensive rushes from
Joey Gibson and Holden Ehgoetz with defensive plays from Evan Green to end the
period in a draw. Third period play resumed with Griffin Smith winning a face
off to drive the net for another Huskie goal making it 3-0. Minutes later Smith
would set up Thorne so Cody Cowell could capitalize on another goal. The Storm
managed to gain a break nailing their first goal midway through the 3rd
before Wheeler hit Klaassen’ s tape who popped in the final. Huskies 5-1.
In quarter final play, the Huskies faced Brampton again with
a solid repeat of an earlier match. Huskies goals were scored by Smith, Thorne
and Hunter (2) with assists being earned from Smith and Hunter (2).
Semi-final play would see the Huskies facing home town
hosts, Owen Sound in what would be the best game to date for the Huskies.
Thorne would feed Smith and minutes later Cowell edging the Huskies ahead 2-0
at the end of the 1st. Second period was deja-vu for Owen Sound when
Thorne repeated with another pass for Smith’s second goal of the game. Owen
Sound, needing to get in the game, responded with one before the Huskies added
another with Wheeler’s goal and assists for Klaassen and Hunter for a 4-2
second period final. Owen Sound dug deep to net another in the top of the
third. With the roof being raised due to the thundering roars of fan support
the players couldn’t even hear when the play was halted with the referee’s
whistle. With the clock running out of time and both teams having used their
timeouts, OS pulled their goalie in a do or die last ditch attempt. OS lived up
to their Attack name and set the roof on fire netting a short-handed goal with
eight seconds on the clock. Overtime play opened with the Huskies benefitting
from a power play that went flat due to the Attack’s great penalty kill.
Seconds later Lee-Barker would send the perfect pass to Hunter for a gratifying
top shelf goal. Huskies 5, Owen Sound 4.
The Huskies were on their way to the Championship game to
face Uxbridge who upset the Waterloo Wolves in the Semi’s. In what would be a
test of mental maturity and endurance the Huskies played their best only to be
bested by Uxbridge scoring in each period for a 3-0 Uxbridge final. The
players’ showed their sportsmanship after a hard loss having gone four straight
victories with gold in their sights. The coaching staff congratulates the boys
on their growth and team building success in earning their Silver medal
victory. What a great accomplishment. GO HUSKIES!!!